Held
by Sierra Rose the Hedgehog
Summary: When an evil force threatens to tear apart Sonic's world, our speedy blue hero must team up with a mysterious girl from the future to save what is to come. But what exactly is this girl hiding that she doesn't want Sonic to know? Contains several OCs.


**Author's Note~ Here we go. Yet another Sonic fanfiction. I love writing these things. XD At any rate, this will be about... Sonic and his friends. Hmm. Well, I can't say too much. I have big surprises waiting in this story. It won't be too difficult to figure most of them out, but I'm not gonna spoil it! =D Read and review. Hope you enjoy!**

Prologue:

**BOOM!**  
_Crash!_

"... Dad!... Hey, Dad, wake up! There's a big fireworks presentation goin' on outside!"

Sonic groaned drowsily, and begrudgingly opened one eye. A pair of bright emerald green eyes reflected back at him. The little female hedgehog blinked at him.

"It's fireworks, Dad," she insisted exuberantly.

Sonic glared at the bedside table clock. "It's six o' clock in the morning. Why would they be having fireworks? Go back to sleep, young lady." He closed his eye once more and proceeded to resume sleep.

_**BANG!**_

The young hedgehog tugged at her father's arm persistently. Sonic sighed and kicked off the covers in his bed.

"Not even Independence Day," he grumbled, languidly swinging one leg over the side of the bed. In the process, he accidentally elbowed the pink hedgehog in bed beside him, to whom he swiftly apologized. Sonic stood up and looked at the little girl standing impatiently before him. "Now what is this all about?"

"Fireworks, Dad, fireworks," the seven-year-old responded eagerly. She grasped Sonic's gloved hands tightly and began to tug him towards the bedroom window.

Sonic sighed again, following his young daughter to the window. He silently regretted the fact that she had inherited his stubbornness.

"What's going on here?" The pink hedgehog in bed had now sat up straight. Her dark green eyes were dreary with grogginess.

"It's fireworks. Come see, Mom!" The youngest hedgehog had successfully pulled her father to the window and fidgeted with impatience while Sonic slowly opened the cloud curtains with a yawn.

Her mother opened her mouth to question confusedly, but a sudden explosion shook the house, jolting everyone awake.

"Big fireworks," the pink hedgehog remarked, taken aback.

Sonic's green eyes were now awake and alert, and a grim expression had suddenly dominated his countenance. He quickly untied the strings which bounded the curtains together and opened the window. The pink hedgehog climbed out of bed and walked over to join them.

All three sets of green eyes widened as they gazed in horror out the window. The sky was orange and billowing clouds of ashes polluted the atmosphere. Every here and there, explosions would leap up from the torn, unsettled dirt like flames of a fire. Robots loomed at every corner of the horizon. And if that wasn't enough-

"OH HOH HO HOH HOH HOOOOHHHH!"

Sonic's blood ran cold. He'd know that gut-wrenching cackle anywhere. "Eggman." Sonic's lip curled as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"But wasn't he in hiding from the government?" The pink hedgehog lingered fearfully near Sonic.

"Who's Eggman?" asked the little hedgehog, staring up at her parents inquisitively.

Sonic lowered his muzzle and squeezed his eyes shut. "I should have known he'd be back. That guy just doesn't give up." He opened his eyes to gaze sadly at the pink hedgehog by his side. "Why does it have to be this way, Amy? Can't we live one day in peace without him interfering?"

Amy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and gazed back, affection in her dark green eyes. "Sonic... You know that no matter what happens, I will stick with you."

"But what about her?" Sonic murmured, meaning the little hedgehog who was still staring at them curiously. "We can't let Eggman hurt her. She means too much to me."

"I care about her safety as much as you do," Amy answered. She smiled, attempting to get the blue hedgehog to return the smile. "Come on, Sonic. We'll work it out together."

Sonic forced a weary smile. "I guess so. We can beat ol' Egghead any day." He squeezed her hand tenderly. "We'll do it together."

"B-but, who's Eggman?" the little seven-year-old stammered, her green eyes filling with tears. "What's going on, Mom? I'm scared."

Amy knelt down to her daughter's level. "It's okay, darling. Your father and I have it under control."

"But there's someone bad out there," the little girl sobbed. "I'm not stupid. You and Dad are going to get hurt."

Sonic knelt down and looked the little hedgehog in the eye. "Listen to me. No matter what happens to your mother and I, you have to promise to keep going."

"B-but, I-"

"You carry a great burden with you, as the only daughter of Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic interrupted. "People are going to look to you for protection when I'm gone."

"But I don't want you leave," the child sniffled. She latched on to her father, huddling close into Sonic's chest. Her warm tears soaked the blue hedgehog's fur. "I'll be sad without you."

"But you have to remember. No matter what happens to me," Sonic repeated firmly, holding his daughter tightly. "You have to keep going. You have to keep moving forward."

"Daddy..." The little girl sobbed again.

"Now, we're going to go take care of those robots," Sonic announced, drawing back from his daughter. He looked at her solemnly. "I want you to stay here and keep out of sight. Whatever happens, keep yourself safe."

"You're going to come back, right?" the girl squeaked.

Sonic gazed at his daughter for a long time, not responding. When he finally answered, his voice was emotionless. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

He continued to gaze at his daughter expressionless, and she stared back, her eyes watery and her voice still weak with anguish. Amy gently took Sonic's hand as another loud crash from outside rattled the house. "Sonic."

Sonic closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, standing up with Amy. He nodded at his daughter. "Just keep out of sight and stay safe. Everything else will be just fine."

"You promised," the girl responded, sniffling again.

Sonic did his best to keep his voice emotionless, but he was afraid the worry and uncertainty in his eyes was too evident. Amy squeezed his hand gently, reminding him once more of their responsibility. He cleared his throat and nodded at his little daughter, heading out of the room. He could feel her teary eyes watching him as he left. He only hoped he could keep his promise.

* * *

It was agony. Pure agony. The doubt and horror of it all. I never knew if he would come back or not. I was only seven then. I didn't know what to think. One day I was living life happily with my dad and mom, and the next thing I knew, they sent off for battle with some villain that hadn't been heard of for years.

He promised me. He promised me everything would be okay. And I trusted him. I knew if my father said something was going to happen, then sure as fire, it would happen. I never had any reason to doubt Dad.

But he didn't know what he was coming up against. He thought it was just that one bad guy he'd dealt with for half of his life. He thought he knew how to handle it. But he was wrong. There was something else behind it all that nobody knew about, and when the truth was finally realized, it was too late.

I'll never forget those last moments. I watched my dad and my mom try to fight off the attacks. But I could see they were getting weaker, and weaker. Even with Dad in his Super form, they were growing weaker. Mom was about ready to pass out and had already lowered her hammer. Now all Dad could do was carry my half-unconscious mother and dodge attacks from the enemy.

. . . .

"Sonic!... Are we going to be okay?" The pink hedgehog glanced up at the golden hedgehog carrying her in his arms.

"We have to be. I promised her!" the golden hedgehog responded, hovering in midair and dodging another attack from the robot. His red eyes blazed with determination.

"Oh, Sonic... it's too late. We're too far gone. We're losing. It's over." The pink hedgehog closed her eyes. Tears were pricking at the corners of them.

"I can't give up without fight!"

"You were always were so stubborn. But... that was what I liked about you." The pink hedgehog reached up to stroke the golden hedgehog's cheek gently.

"Amy... I can't give up. I promised her. We can't lose. We have to live."

"It's over, Sonic..."

"I'm sorry, Amy." The golden hedgehog swallowed hard and began to hover towards the ground, his body losing more strength with the passing of each second. "I... can't go on... but I have to..."

"We'll work it out together." The pink hedgehog silently lifted her head and brought her lips to the golden hedgehog's, meeting them in a final kiss. An explosion from a nearby huge robot surrounded them, and a flash of blinding light engulfed their two weak bodies.

It was over.

. . .

I could only watch from the distance as the explosion went up all around them. I felt so helpless. I wanted to run to them and save them, but Dad had told me to keep myself safe. I was torn on the inside. He had promised everything would be okay. And now it wasn't.

I remember dropping to my knees, my heart crumbling inside. I knew the truth was evident. My parents were dead, and there was nothing I could do to bring them back.

But thankfully, I wasn't alone. Bolt and Maria had lost their parents in the battle, too. And Opal and Vain, and Ash and Ember, and Seamus and Darla... We were all together, but my beloved parents were still gone, and I would never see them again. I still couldn't change the past.

Or could I?...


End file.
